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See Trash in Your Community?
Spot pollution or a neglected area near you? Reach out to us on Instagram. We will do our best to visit, film, and bring awareness to that location, making sure the problem gets seen.
Reach out on InstagramWant to Film It Yourself?
Grab your phone or drone and document the pollution around you. We will show you exactly how to capture footage that gets attention and drives real clean-up action in your area.
Get in TouchWhy Recycling Matters
Small choices ripple outward. Recycling is one of the most powerful tools every person holds.
Keeps Plastic Out of Oceans
Over 8 million metric tons of plastic enter the ocean every year. When we recycle, we close the loop, turning would-be ocean waste into raw material instead.
Conserves Natural Resources
Recycling aluminum uses 95% less energy than producing it from scratch. Every ton of paper recycled spares 17 trees and 7,000 gallons of water.
Strengthens Communities
Cleaner neighborhoods attract investment, improve public health, and raise quality of life. Recycling programs create local jobs and build civic pride.
A Vote for the Future
Reducing waste lowers greenhouse gas emissions from landfills and incineration. Every act of recycling is a vote for a livable planet.
Meet the Droners
A team of young changemakers using technology to fight pollution and protect our planet.
Co-Founders
Kean Dao
Co-Founder
Greenville, NC
Kean Dao is a Levine Scholar and Business Honors Program student at UNC Charlotte, pursuing a triple degree in Economics, Finance, and Business Analytics. As a co-founder of Environmental Droners, he works at the intersection of technology, sustainability, and community impact, using drone-based solutions to identify polluted areas and support targeted clean-up efforts.
Since founding Environmental Droners in 2020, Kean has helped lead initiatives that have removed over 5,000 pounds of waste while mobilizing hundreds of volunteers and raising awareness about environmental challenges. His work is driven by a strong interest in environmental economics, particularly how sustainable practices can strengthen local economies and create long-term value for communities.
In addition to his work with Environmental Droners, Kean has been recognized as a Prudential Emerging Visionary, GivingTuesday Starling Collective Fellow, and Ashoka Young Changemaker. He has also contributed to youth leadership panels focused on environmental sustainability, economic development, and social impact.
Kean is committed to building scalable solutions that not only improve environmental conditions but also support resilient, sustainable communities around the world.
Sunook Yoon
Co-Founder
Greenville, NC
Sunook Yoon's relationship with technology began in middle school, when he started building robotic systems to help protect homes in flood-prone, underprivileged communities. That early project planted a seed; technology became his language for tackling problems that mattered, and the environment became the lens through which he kept pursuing that interest.
That throughline carried him through high school, where his work earned national recognition: a Letter of Gratitude from the President and Vice President of the United States, an invitation to speak at the White House on expanding youth access to technology, and a paid keynote to over 400 people at the New England Aquarium. Alongside this, he co-founded Environmental Droners, an initiative that grew into a global community focused on environmental data collection and youth education in drone technology.
Now studying Business Administration & Data Science at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business, Sunook has continued building on that foundation, developing computer vision systems for human-robot interaction and gaining firsthand experience evaluating emerging technology companies through an investment lens. Today, he's bringing all of these experiences together, looking toward the future of AI and what it can unlock next.
Co-Founding Engineers & Technical Directors
Loubna Aitkharraz
Co-Founding Engineer & Technical Director
Marrakesh, Morocco
Loubna Aitkharraz is a Cyber Defense and Embedded Telecommunications Systems Engineer and a Co-Founding Engineer & Technical Director at Environmental Droners. She combines expertise in cybersecurity, embedded systems, telecommunications, and machine learning to help build and secure the technical foundation behind the organization's environmental monitoring and pollution-detection work.
At Environmental Droners, Loubna focuses on the systems and intelligence side of the mission, developing and protecting the platforms, data pipelines, and AI/ML models that allow volunteers, researchers, and community partners to collect environmental data, detect and classify pollution hotspots, and turn that information into meaningful action. Her engineering work helps ensure these solutions are not only functional, but reliable, secure, and built to scale.
Alongside her work at Environmental Droners, Loubna serves as Technology, Systems & Cybersecurity Lead at Teachers For Peace, a role she has held for four years, where she leads the design and protection of the organization's digital infrastructure in support of its educational and humanitarian mission. This reflects a consistent throughline in her work: applying engineering and security expertise in service of people and purpose.
Loubna is passionate about technology for good and is committed to using her skills in cyber defense, embedded systems, and applied machine learning to build innovative, trustworthy solutions that protect communities and contribute to a more sustainable future.
Robert Gross
Co-Founding Engineer & Technical Director
Durham, NC
Robert Gross is a software engineer and graduate of UNC Charlotte, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science with a concentration in Software Engineering. As a Founding Engineer of Environmental Droners, he helps develop the technology and systems that support the organization's mission of using drones and data to address environmental challenges and drive community impact.
Since joining Environmental Droners, Robert has contributed to the design and development of technical solutions that support environmental monitoring, data collection, and operational efficiency. Working alongside fellow engineers and organizational leaders, he helps build tools that enable volunteers, researchers, and community partners to better identify pollution hotspots, measure environmental impact, and support sustainability initiatives.
Professionally, Robert is a participant in Vanguard's Technology Leadership Program, where he develops enterprise software solutions and gains experience across modern technologies, cloud platforms, and large-scale systems. His interests include software engineering, artificial intelligence, data analytics, and emerging technologies that can create meaningful environmental and social impact.
Robert is passionate about leveraging technology to solve real-world problems and is committed to building innovative, scalable solutions that empower communities and contribute to a more sustainable future.
Sara El Moutarabbi
Co-Founding Engineer & Technical Director
Marrakesh, Morocco
Sara El Moutarabbi is a Cybersecurity Engineer and Co-Founding Engineer & Technical Director at Environmental Droners. She combines expertise in cybersecurity, AI, and drone technologies to develop innovative solutions for environmental monitoring and plastic pollution detection. Passionate about technology for good, she is committed to leveraging innovation to create a more sustainable future.